Let's talk about protein, ft. mashed potatoes

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

with extra added protein

     You can tell when I've been back at the gym again, because all of my recipes and meals have a secret added boost of protein in them! I often get asked the questions "Where do you get your protein?"and "Do you use protein powder?" So here are the quick answers!

1.) All plant foods have protein in them, not just nuts and beans. So just by eating plain plant foods, you can meet your daily protein requirements with no problem at all. That being said, certain plant foods are higher in protein than others, and my go-to-foods in that case are lentils, beans, tofu, seitan, tempeh, nutritional yeast, and of course, nuts and seeds.

2.) When I'm actively lifting and going to the gym I do use protein powder. Otherwise, not usually. My chocolate protein powder (from MyProtein) is soy based, and my vanilla (from Vega) is a mixture of different plant protein sources, with added greens. I don't usually make shakes with them, I put a scoop or so in my oatmeal/pancake batter in the morning instead! It's super convenient, because it sweetens the oatmeal as well as giving it some added flavour.

     All of that being said, let's talk about the recipe!

     I adore mashed potatoes. Always have, always will, but let's be real... They're not the healthiest thing on the planet. White potatoes don't have a ton of vitamins and nutrients, and mashed potatoes are usually loaded with salt, butter, and other not-so-hot items... So I've been fulfilling my mashed potato cravings with this healthier, equally as delicious version, that doesn't require a ton of ingredients and is pretty easy to prepare! 

  

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 medium russet potatoes

1 medium sweet potato

1/2 an onion

2 cloves of garic

1/4 cup red lentils

4 tbsp nutritional yeast

pinch of salt

(optional) fresh herbs or greens. I used basil.

Instructions:

1. Chop the potatoes and bring to a boil with the lentils

2. Chop the onion, garlic, and herbs

3. Strain the potatoes when they're fork tender and the lentils are not longer hard

4. Place the onion, garlic and herbs in the pot while it'still on the heat until fragrant and golden

5. Add the potatoes, lentils, nutritional yeast, and salt

6. Mash it all up!

*If it isn't creamy enough, add some almond or coconut milk

I served mine, like most things, on a bed of fresh spinach!

Just so you all know, each serving has:

-under 200 calories

-over 10g of protein

-your daily value of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12

-also a lot of phosphorous, zinc, vitamin C, fibre, selenium, manganese, and more!

Not too shabby for a tasty side dish.
I could honestly eat this whole thing as a large meal and not feel bad about it!

Eat up. :)